The need to revitalize the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences is raised

marzo 26, 2024

The Universidad Católica del Maule ratified its support for disciplines that are also key to progress and quality of life, during the launch of a strategic development plan.

A call to revitalize the humanities, arts and social sciences was made by researchers to the academy during the launching of the «(Con)fluencia» project, which the Universidad Católica del Maule was awarded by the National Agency for Research and Development (ANID).

«The contributions in these disciplines have been from individuals. Institutionalism in general is dedicated to train professionals, but not to think about the context in which these people must be inserted. To the extent that we understand what we have been, we will be able to generate new situations or contexts so that these professionals can find meaning in their lives,» said Raúl Sánchez, PhD in Chilean History, who reviewed the evolution of the humanities, arts and social sciences in the region.

«Maule has been very segregationist and elitist. It is necessary to study the region’s past to understand the present and warn what we should not continue to do,» said Sánchez, in a panel that also included the participation of Dr. Valentina Bulo and Dr. Manuel Canales.

«The idea was to generate a conversation about the challenges involved in thinking about institutional transformation in these areas. The focus should be more on construction than on productivity and should be placed on the needs of the territory. Science is very much in line with indexing and the ‘paper’ and is ultimately configured as a research athleticism, which perhaps does not improve the welfare of people or their quality of life,» said the director of the initiative and academic of the campus, Dr. Claudia Concha.

«(Con)fluence: bringing together the regional ecosystem in the diagnosis and collaborative construction of the strategic plan for the strengthening of the Social Sciences and Humanities at UCM» corresponds to one of the thirteen projects that will be funded by the «Knowledge 2030» program, a new call of the Ministry of Science, Technology, Knowledge and Innovation, aimed at promoting changes within universities to highlight the role of the humanities, arts and social sciences.

«Research in these areas is being done, but it is not very visible. Science is associated mainly with laboratories, engineering and astronomy, but we are convinced that everything that is done in these areas is very important to contribute to the territories», emphasized the seremi Sofia Valenzuela.

The initiative will last for ten months and will be supported by the careers of Law, Social Work, Sociology and Psychology, as well as the Master’s Degree in Ethics and Citizenship Education, the Master’s Degree in Religious and Philosophical Sciences, the Doctorate in Philosophy, Religion and Contemporary Thought and the General Education Department of the university.

«I am very happy that there is a special concern for the humanities, arts and social sciences, because they are important and relevant to improve the quality of reflection and scientific deliberation,» said the rector of UCM, Dr. Claudio Rojas, who attended the ceremony accompanied by the vice rector for Research and Graduate Studies, Dr. Hernán Maureira.